Recent advances in vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) technology have enabled the production of VCSELs with high intensity beams and low threshold currents, suitable for optical communications applications. Generally, a VCSEL produces a cylindrical laser beam perpendicular to the surface of the wafer on which the VCSEL is fabricated. However, VCSELs have recently been developed that provide the ability to control the angle of emission to some extent by using non-uniform current injection or integrated optical beam routers. This raises the prospect of producing steerable VCSELs suitable for free space optical switching applications. However, the degree of steering has generally been limited in comparison to the beam spot size, making it difficult to produce low crosstalk free-space interconnects. It is desired to provide a VCSEL with improved ability to selectively control the direction of photon emission from the laser, or at least a useful alternative.